where the wind takes us
by quietcomedian
Summary: The consequences of negligence have never been so great. Team Seven walked through the village gates and didn't once look back. Uzumaki-twins.


**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. I only own Akira.**

 **Hope you guys enjoy :)**

* * *

She doesn't remember much about the orphanage – the days run together in a pitiful blur - but honestly, she prefers it that way.

What she does remember is porridge blander than the gray that painted every inch of their room. She remembers coldness, from the gazes of the people entrusted with their care to the nights where her and her brother were given a thin blanket to share between the both of them.

Aesthetically, this run-down apartment with its water stains yellowing the ceiling and the dust bunny colonies in every corner was a step down, but it lacked the suffocating tension and palpable hatred that followed the twins wherever they went.

This dingy, dirty hovel was theirs and theirs entirely and it was _warm._ Whether the change in temperature came from the sunlight filtering through the moth-eaten curtains or the absence of an icy gaze, it mattered not.

Turning back to the man responsible, she shyly looked up into his kind eyes.

"Is it really ours?"

He smiled, which made the skin near his eyes wrinkle, and placed a hand on top of her head gently.

"Of course, my child. It's not much but I know how you two disliked the orphanage and - "

A small body latched themselves to his white robes, small hands clutching the fabric around his legs. Lilac eyes – eyes that were a little too familiar – peered up at him as she whispered, "Thank you."

A loud crash from the bedroom startled them both.

"Oi, Akira! Look! We can see the Hokage Mountain from here!"

A yellow blur bolted in the room, eyes bright and smile uncontained, something of a rarity lately. Tackling the side unoccupied by his sister, Naruto beamed up at him.

"Geez, old man! This place rocks! Wanna know what would make it ten times better? Some ramen, that's what!"

The night ended with all three at Ichiraku's, because where else would they be?

* * *

The Academy was a bore, Shikamaru decided. The pace was slow and the material wasn't anything that he didn't already know and they were five months into the school year. The whole concept of routinely waking up early to endure lectures and kids his own age was troublesome, but today was extra troublesome, which he didn't think was possible.

It was sparring day. A day where the boys in their class would try to show off skills they didn't have and the girls would screech for their favorites in that shrill tone that grated on his patience.

He himself had done the smart thing – in his opinion – and forfeited his match against Choji. It served no purpose. Why exert energy to hurt a friend when he didn't want to do either? To Shikamaru, the choice was simple.

Despite wanting to sneak off to nap under his favorite tree, he stayed to watch the rest of the matches. With his body slouched and his eyes sharp, Shikamaru made a prediction of the outcome in each match.

Nine out of ten times he was right. Ino would win by daintily fluttering around her opponent, moves performed for style rather than function. Kiba's form gradually gets sloppier the longer the match wears on, but he manages to pull a win out of sheer strength. Hinata would shy away from her sparring partner, never willing to hurt another and would accept defeat early on.

The next couple Iruka-sensei called was the first pair that Shikamaru hesitated in predicting.

Uzumaki Akira and Uchiha Sasuke.

Shikamaru wasn't unsure about the Uchiha. He was arrogant and sure in his skills that he has honed since he could walk. Couple that with a genetic guarantee of greatness and it equaled to their class' most probable Rookie of the Year.

It was the former that Shikamaru couldn't foretell the actions of.

Akira was by far the less troublesome twin, he noted as the two stepped in the sparring circle. During class, she would half-heartedly take notes on the lesson he suspected that she already knew and politely answered the frequent questions the teacher spitefully threw at her. She took it all in stride, the alienation of classmates and the withering glares from their teachers. But sometimes he could tell from the atypical slouch in her shoulders and the smile that doesn't reach her eyes, how tired and weary and _lonely_ she was. He was so used to her carefree disposition it took him awhile to realize it was a carefully constructed mask, as to not draw more negative attention to her or her twin.

Speaking of her twin, he was currently cheering on his sister in a volume that overpowered the fangirls combined. He only stopped when Sensei knocked the back of his head and threatened him with a week's worth of detention if he disturbed the class again. Shikamaru noticed the fond smile on Akira's face and knew Naruto didn't regret it one a bit.

The match begun and all eyes were glued to the scene before them.

Sasuke flew towards the blonde, delivering a series of punches and kicks in rapid succession as he pushed Akira closer to the outskirts of the ring. Shikamaru winced as a particularly nasty kick landed on her ribs and sent her tumbling to the ground.

Sasuke, with clear intent on finishing the match in his eyes, rushed forward and missed the look in Akira's eyes that reminded Shikamaru of a cornered animal. Akira tensed the same way a cat would before the strike and charged to meet Sasuke halfway. With a renewed ferocity that Skikamaru didn't know she possessed, she took the offensive, landing two hits for every one landed on her. Startled by her change in disposition and intensity, Sasuke's discipline started to wane as his control of the match decreased and panic slowly took ahold of him. Throwing a punch that was too off centered and high, Akira took advantage and grabbed the forearm that flew past her head, turned and used his momentum to throw him off his feet. Quickly following up, she lunged on top of him and grabbed his throat with a steady hand. She could feel his pulse under her thumb, thumping wildly under the pressure. Her eyes drifted up from his neck to meet wide onyx eyes and only then did she realize the close proximity. She hastily stood up and gave him space, missing the blush that colored his cheeks.

In a semi-dazed voice, and much to the fury of the fangirls, Iruka announced Akira as the winner and instructed for them to perform the seal of reconciliation. Sasuke instead stood up and strode away from the Academy, ignoring Iruka's shouts of improper sparring etiquette and his fangirls pleas to let them cheer him up.

Shrugging to herself, Akira rejoined her brother on the sideline, holding her side that was sure to be bruised in the morning. She indulgently listened to Naruto's rambling on how kick ass she was and how they needed to go out for ramen in celebration.

* * *

Despite his passionate declarations, Naruto doesn't really want to be Hokage. What he wants is the power change things and be _heard._

Akira liked to pretend their time in the orphanage never happened but Naruto couldn't – wouldn't allow himself to forget. Not when the image of his sister crying with a hand shaped imprint across her face was so deeply ingrained in his mind. Not when he can still remember when Akira was sick and weak and _suffering_ and they wouldn't give them another blanket, even when he begged and pleaded and _screamed_ , they still wouldn't listen. She was his little sister and it was his job to protect her, but he was failing because he was weak.

The Hokage is the powerful ninja in the village and because of that, people listen when he speaks.

So that is Naruto's dream. To be so powerful that he commands their respect and attention. To have the power to fix what is broken and ignored. To be powerful so Akira would never have to suffer again, because that was his responsibility as a big brother.

But until then he pulls pranks on the merchants and civilians, because it's only fair that something is flawed in their perfect, perfect life. But he never goes near the orphanage, because he knows that if he sees it he would be consumed by a white, hot rage and he wouldn't be in control of his actions.

So, for Akira's sake he leaves it alone, for now.

* * *

She _feels_ him before she sees him.

She knows from textbooks that each person has a unique chakra signature. She senses an individual whose chakra thunders and booms like a storm – like lightning and its familiar to her. It's not anyone who is animal-masked and watches over her and her brother. Their chakra is dimmed, watered down and diluted so much that sometimes she can't tell if they are there or not. It's not Naruto because his signature is overwhelming, energy radiating from him as if there is almost too much for him to handle. When it's clear that the individual is coming closer to her, she watches the entrance wondering who it could be.

Sasuke strolls through the doors and to her table with more grace and confidence a six year old should possess.

"Fight me."

Akira raised her brow and made an obvious sweep around the room with her eyes.

"I don't think Watanabe-san would appreciate sparring near his precious books, Uchiha-san." The man was always looking for an excuse to throw her out.

Sasuke's left eye twitched when she refocused her attention back for the worn textbook and scribbled notes on a scratch piece of paper. Irked by being ignored, he snatched the paper from under her and scrunched his nose when he skimmed over the notes.

"Why are you working on this? The project's not due for another month."

She stood and grabbed for her notes only for them to be pulled away out of her reach.

"Why else would the teacher assign it to us now if he didn't want us to start working on it? If Iruka-sensei wanted crap work done in a few days, he would've given us the assignment later." She huffed. "Now give it back!"

His response was move it further out of her reach. She cursed her shortness.

Trying to soothe her rising anger, she took a deep breath and leaned back against the table. "Why do you even want to fight me?"

"Just to reaffirm that yesterday was a fluke." He smirked.

She felt a sting of indignation at his arrogance. Her first thought is to wipe the smugness right off his face with well-aimed kick, but she could practically feel Watanabe's death glare at the back of her head. Instead, stomped on his toes with the heel of her shoe and plucked her notes from his hand when he hunched over.

Content, she sat back in her chair and kept her notes safely tucked under her hands. She looked at her classmate expectantly.

He opened his mouth to say something but he snaps it shut. He face is pensive when he turns on his heel and strides out the library doors.

Akira blinked. While it wasn't what she expected, she's grateful the encounter over and she didn't get into more trouble. She continued to work on her research project on the complexities of Konoha's government system and its differences from the Capitol, but with less concentration she initially started with.

* * *

Someone yanked on her hair when she left the library. Hard.

She whipped around to see Sasuke examining the strands of yellow in his hand.

"Fight me." He said still looking at the hair in his hand.

"No!" She pulled her hair from his hand and pushed it behind her shoulders.

He crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes. "Why not?"

Oh, she had a lot of reasons _why not._ She contemplated telling him that fun, sparring, and Uchiha Sasuke were the lasts things she would willingly put together. The kid was vicious. She wanted to tell him to _fuck off_ because he shouldn't get what he wanted all the time. But she doesn't say anything she _wants_ to say because life is about doing what is needed to be done, regardless of how you feel sometimes.

"First, it's against the rules to fight outside the Academy. Second- "

He scoffed. "Your excuses are lame." After a pause, he added, "If you're scared, all you need to do is say so."

He was goading her and she was ashamed of how easy it was for someone to provoke her. Yet still, she couldn't walk away now without looking like the biggest weenie ever. So, despite knowing not to, she rises to his bait.

"Time and place, Uchiha." She bit out with her hands clenched tightly.

He smirked. "Come by the compound tomorrow at noon." Satisfied with getting what he wanted, again, he turned around and strolled – swaggered back to his clan compound.

Huffing and turning on her heel, Akira stomped her way past the street vendors and merchants alike. She needed to brainstorm how to tell her brother, her brother who _hated_ Sasuke, that the two of them were going to the Uchiha compound at noon tomorrow.

She was _screwed._ She needed to get ramen to bribe him with. Like a lot of ramen.

* * *

 **Hi there! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! It was hard trying to maintain true to each character's personality, but hopefully I did alright. About the section with Naruto's thoughts of being Hokage, I wanted to show how having a sibling would affect his general outlook. I think witnessing someone special to him suffer at the hands of others would make him less buoyant and cheery to the public. I hope I did it tastefully.**

 **What do you guys think about Akira? Let me know what you guys think!**

 **P.S. My motivation to write the next chapter is directly proportional to the amount of feedback I get ;)**


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